Gruden challenges Brown during Raiders offseason

ALAMEDA, CALIF. (AP) >> Antonio Brown’s credentials were well established long before he arrived in Oakland as the Raiders new No. 1 receiver.

Brown posted six straight 100-catch seasons for the Steelers with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and was the NFL’s most prolific receiver before he forced his way out of Pittsburgh to join the Raiders in March.

Those impressive credentials mean little to coach Jon Gruden, who is pushing Brown as hard as any of his other receivers as Oakland begins preparations for the 2019 season. It’s a similar approach to the one Gruden took during his first stint in Oakland, when he inherited future Hall of Fame receiver Tim Brown and then added the game’s most productive receiver ever in Jerry Rice.

“He challenged me from the meeting room to the field,” Brown said Tuesday of Gruden. “Lining me up at all kind of positions, hurrying up the offense’s tempo to see if I’m able to mentally pick up what I’m doing, where I’m lining up really fast. So, it’s never a dull day with coach. Always challenging, always high energy and always detailed and fundamental in regards to our assignment.”

While Gruden is holding Brown to a high standard, Brown does the same to his fellow receivers on the roster. He has instituted a fine system for dropped passes in practice and wants to set an example with his strong work ethic for the rest of the players in the receivers’ room.

Gruden had been enamored with Brown since his days as an announcer, calling himthe hardest working player he had ever seen. Now the rest of the Raiders are seeing what Gruden meant.